Refastenable pant-like absorbent article and a method for making it

ABSTRACT

A pant-type absorbent article including a first body panel having a body facing side and a garment facing side and a second body panel having a body facing side and a garment facing side, the body facing sides of first and second body panels are held together in a face-to-face relationship along lateral edges to form side connections. The article further including a first fastening member hingedly attached to or near a lateral edge of the body facing side of the first body panel and having a portion which is unattached to said first body panel, said portion is refastenably attached to a complementary second fastening member provided on the body facing side of the second body panel. A recess forming a finger grip may be provided in the lateral edge of the first body panel.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure refers to a pant-type refastenable absorbentarticle, such as a pant diaper, training pant, swim pant, sanitary pantor incontinence pant. The disclosure further refers to a method formaking the refastenable absorbent article.

BACKGROUND

Pant-type absorbent articles have a defined waist opening and a pair ofleg openings and are pulled onto the body of the wearer by inserting thelegs into the leg openings and pulling the article up over the waist.They are usually provided with various elastic elements so that they canconform to the body of the user and provide a comfortable fit. Examplesof such pant-type absorbent articles are pant diapers, sanitary pantsand incontinence pants worn by incontinent adults. They comprise a firstbody panel and a second body panel, forming the front and back panels ofthe pant. The first and second body panels are joined to each otheralong lateral edges to form side connections. A crotch panel is providedbetween the first and second body panels. The crotch panel can beintegral with either one or both panels or can be provided as a separatepart joined to the first and second body panels.

Pant-type absorbent article often do not have a refastening mechanismthat allows the garment to be easily removed after use or to be adjustedduring use. However there are known through various prior art documentssuch refastenable pant-type absorbent articles.

WO 95/27462 discloses a pant diaper having releasable and refastenablefastening means along the lateral edges of the front and back panels forjoining the front and back panels together along the sides thereof. Therefastenable fastening means replaces a permanent side seam.

WO 01/87204 discloses an absorbent garment with a refastenable sideseam.

Complementary fasteners are applied at the front and the back panels onthe wearer facing side and one of the complementary fasteners is appliedto the panel in a C-folded configuration such that a lap seam is formed.

WO 03/024377 discloses a refastenable absorbent garment comprising aplurality of fastener pieces spaced along the side edges formingrefastenable side seams of the garment. Cuts may be provided in the bodypanel webs between the fastener pieces.

WO 03/057116 discloses a refastenable absorbent garment having afastening tab hingedly connected to the body facing side of a first bodypanel. The fastening tab is hinged and folded over along a folding lineadjacent a lateral side edge of the body panel and is in the folded overstate releasably fastened to the body facing side of the opposite bodypanel. No overlapping side seams between the first and second bodypanels are provided along their joined side edges.

One problem with these types of openable and refastenable absorbentgarments is that it may be difficult to open the side seams in acontrolled manner so that they may be refastened again. If the sideseams are difficult to open, an attempt to open them may result intearing of the web materials of the body panels, at which the garmentwill become unusable.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure aims at providing a pant-like absorbent articlessuch as a pant diaper, a training pant, a swim pant, a sanitary pant orincontinence pant, having openable and refastenable side connections.The side connections should be easy to open and re-connect in acontrolled manner minimizing the risk for tearing of the web materialsof the body panels.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure there is provided apant-type absorbent article of the kind mentioned above, comprising afirst body panel having a body facing side and a garment facing side anda second body panel having a body facing side and a garment facing side,the body facing sides of first and second body panels are joined to eachother along or near at least one of their respective lateral edges byrefastenable fastening means, comprising a first fastening member havinga first portion attached to or near a lateral edge of the body facingside of the first body panel and having a second portion which isunattached to said first body panel, wherein the first fastening membercomprises a hinge between said first and second portions, said hingeextending in a substantial longitudinal direction of the article. Theportion of the first fastening member which is unattached to the firstbody panel is refastenably attached to a complementary second fasteningmember provided on the body facing side of the second body panel. Thebody facing sides of the first and second body panels are arranged in aface-to-face relationship along their lateral edges in the area of thefirst portion of the first fastening member.

According to one embodiment a recess is provided in the lateral edge ofthe first body panel. This recess forms a finger grip for facilitatingopening of the side connections.

In one aspect of the disclosure at least part of said recess has anextension in a longitudinal direction of the article of at least 3 mm,preferably at least 5 and more preferably at least 10 mm.

In a further aspect the recess has an extension in a transversedirection of the article of at least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm.

According to one embodiment the recess extends through said firstfastening member in the portion thereof which is attached to the firstbody panel.

According to a further embodiment the first and second fastening membersare hook-and-loop type fasteners. In a preferred embodiment the firstfastening member is a loop member and the second fastening member is ahook fastener.

In one aspect of the disclosure the second fastening member is appliedon the second body panel at a distance of at least 3 mm, preferably atleast 5 mm from the lateral side edge thereof.

In a further aspect the hinge of the first fastening member is locatedat a distance of at least 3 mm and preferably at least 5 mm from thelateral side edge of the first body panel.

According to one embodiment the length of the first fastening member asseen in longitudinal direction, y, is at least 75% of the length, a, ofthe side connections, preferably at least 90% of said length.

In a further embodiment the second fastening member is attached to theback body panel at a distance, b, of at least 3 mm, preferably at least5 mm from the lateral side of the second body panel. In a still furtherembodiment the width in the transverse direction, x, of the secondfastening member is at least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm, and thelength in longitudinal direction, y, is substantially equal to thelength of the first fastening member.

In a still further aspect at least part of the panel exposed in therecess and/or the surrounding edge of the recess is coloured in acontrasting colour or pattern.

The disclosure further refers to a method of making refastenable sideconnections in a pant-like absorbent article, said article having alongitudinal, y, and transverse direction, x, said method comprising thesteps of:

-   -   aligning a plurality of article blanks in a transverse        direction, x, each article blank including first body panel and        second body panel, wherein adjacent blanks are joined between        their first body panels and between their second body panels at        intended lines of separation, said article blanks having a body        facing side and a garment facing side in its intended use as        absorbent article;    -   bonding a first fastening member of a refastenable fastening        means to each of the first body panels, to the intended body        facing side thereof, in such a way that one portion of the first        fastening member is bonded to the first body panel, while a        second portion thereof, is left unbonded, thus forming a hinged        attachment of said first fastening member, comprising a hinge        extending in a substantial longitudinal direction, y of the        article;    -   bonding a second fastening member of said refastenable fastening        means to the second body panels, to the intended body facing        side thereof;    -   cutting a hole through the first body panel in the area of the        intended line of separation between adjacent first body panels,        so that said hole bridges adjacent first body panels;    -   folding the article blanks to place the first fastening member        of the first body panel of each blank in fastening contact with        the second fastening member of the second body panel of the same        blank;    -   cutting the folded blanks along the intended line of separation        to form pant-like absorbent articles therefrom;    -   or alternatively cutting the blanks along the intended lines of        separation before folding them.

In one embodiment said hole is cut also through the first fasteningmember bonded to the first body panel.

DEFINITIONS Pant-Type Absorbent Article

Pant-type absorbent articles have a defined waist opening and a pair ofleg openings and are pulled onto the body of the wearer by inserting thelegs into the leg openings and pulling the article up over the waist.Examples of such pant-type absorbent articles are pant diapers, sanitarypants and incontinence pants worn by incontinent adults. Pant-typeabsorbent articles usually comprise a front body panel and a back bodypanel, which are joined to each other along two opposite longitudinalside edges to define a waist-opening and a pair of leg-openings. Thepant-type absorbent article further comprises a crotch portion in thepart of the article that in use is intended to extend through thewearer's crotch area, between the legs. The absorbent article isintended to be placed against the skin of the wearer to absorb andcontain body exudates, like urine, faeces and menstrual fluid. Thedisclosure mainly refers to disposable absorbent articles, which meansarticles that are not intended to be laundered or otherwise restored orreused as absorbent articles after use.

Refastenable and Releasable Attachment

The term “refastenable” refers to a releasable attachment of twoelements, thus the attachment may be separated and subsequentlyreattached without substantial permanent deformation or rupture.“Releasable attachment” refers to elements that are connected such thatthe elements tend to remain connected in the absence of a separationforce being applied to one or both of the elements, and that theelements being capable of separation without substantial permanentdeformation or rupture. The required separation force should typicallybe beyond that encountered while wearing the article.

Fixedly Attached

The term “fixedly attached” refers to two or more elements beingattached to each other so that they are not intended to be separated ordisconnected during normal use of the absorbent article.

Hook-and-Loop Fastener

A “hook-and-loop fastener” refers to complementary fastening meanshaving a “hook” portion and a “loop” portion and which are refastenable.The term “hook” as used herein refers to any element capable of engaginganother element, the so called “loop” portion. The term “hook” is notlimited to only “hooks” in its normal sense, but rather encompasses anyform of engaging elements, whether unidirectional or bi-directional. Theterm “loop” is likewise not limited to “loops” in its normal sense, butalso encompasses any structure capable of engaging with a “hook”fastener. Examples of “loop” materials are fibrous structures, likenonwoven materials Hook-and-loop fasteners are for example availablefrom Velcro, USA.

Hinge

The term “hinge” refers to the folding line around which the secondportion of the first fastening means which is unattached to the firstbody panel is allowed to flex.

Side Connection

The term “side connection” used in this context refers to the area alongthe lateral side edges of the first and second body panels where thebody facing sides of said body panels are held in a face to facerelationship by the refastenable fastening means. The actual fasteningarea between the refastenable fastening means does not necessarily haveto be located in the area of the face to face oriented body facing sidesof the body panels, but normally is located slightly inside thereof dueto the hinged attachment of the first fastening means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will in the following be more closely described withreference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a refastenable pant diaper.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line II-II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows the pant diaper according to FIG. 1 with one sideconnection opened.

FIGS. 5 a-e illustrate schematically different manufacturing steps ofone embodiment of making a refastenable pant diaper.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The disclosure refers to pant-type absorbent articles 10, which have adefined waist opening 14 and a pair of leg openings 15 and which arepulled onto the body of the wearer by inserting the legs into the legopenings and pulling the article up over the waist. Examples of suchpant-type absorbent article are pant diapers, training pants, swimpants, sanitary pants and incontinence pants worn by incontinent adults.The article will in the following be referred to as a “pant diaper”. Thearticle has a longitudinal direction x and a transverse direction y.

The pant diaper comprises a front body panel 16, which is the part ofthe pant diaper that in use is intended to extend over the stomach andfront hip area of the wearer. The article also comprises a back bodypanel 17, which is the part of the article that in use is intended toextend over the back and the rear hip area of the wearer. The crotchportion 18 of a pant diaper article is the part of the diaper that inuse is intended to extend through the wearer's crotch area, between thelegs.

An absorbent core 11 is disposed in the crotch portion 18 and extendsinto the front and back body panels 16 and 17. The absorbent core isdisposed between an inner coversheet 12 and an outer coversheet 13.

The term “inner coversheet” refers to the liquid permeable materialsheet forming the inner cover of the absorbent article and which in useis placed in direct contact with the skin of the wearer. The innercoversheet can comprise a nonwoven material, e.g. spunbond, meltblown,carded, hydroentangled, wetlaid etc. Suitable nonwoven materials can becomposed of natural fibers, such as woodpulp or cotton fibres, man-madefibres, such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, viscose, rayonetc. or from a mixture of natural and man-made fibres. The innercoversheet material may further be composed of tow fibres, which may bebonded to each other in a bonding pattern, as e.g. disclosed in EP-A-1035 818. Further examples of inner coversheet materials are porousfoams, apertured plastic films etc. The materials suited as innercoversheet materials should be soft and non-irritating to the skin andbe readily penetrated by body fluid, e.g. urine or menstrual fluid. Theinner coversheet may further be different in different parts of theabsorbent article.

The “outer coversheet” refers to the material forming the outer cover ofthe absorbent article. The outer coversheet may be the same or differentin different parts of the absorbent article.

At least in the area of the absorbent core the outer coversheetcomprises a liquid impervious material a thin plastic film, e.g. apolyethylene or polypropylene film, a nonwoven material coated with aliquid impervious material, a hydrophobic nonwoven material, whichresists liquid penetration, or a laminate of a plastic film and anonwoven material. The outer coversheet material may be breathable so asto allow vapour to escape from the absorbent core, while stillpreventing liquids from passing therethrough. Examples of breathableouter coversheet materials are porous polymeric films, nonwovenlaminates of spunbond and meltblown layers and laminates of porouspolymeric films and nonwoven materials. Preferably, the outer coversheetcomprises a nonwoven material on at least the garment-facing surfacethereof.

The “absorbent core” is the absorbent structure disposed between the twocoversheets of the absorbent article in at least the crotch regionthereof. The absorbent core can be of any conventional kind. Examples ofcommonly occurring absorbent materials are cellulosic fluff pulp, tissuelayers, highly absorbent polymers (so called superabsorbents), absorbentfoam materials, absorbent nonwoven materials or the like. It is commonto combine cellulosic fluff pulp with superabsorbent polymers in anabsorbent core. Superabsorbent polymers are water-swellable,water-insoluble organic or inorganic materials capable of absorbing atleast about 20 times their own weight of an aqueous solution containing0.9 weight percent of sodium chloride. Organic materials suitable foruse as superabsorbent materials can include natural materials such aspolysaccharides, polypeptides and the like, as well as syntheticmaterials such as synthetic hydrogel polymers. Such hydrogel polymersinclude, for example, alkali metal salts of polyacrylic acids,polyacrylamides, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylates, polyacrylamides,polyvinyl pyridines, and the like. Other suitable polymers includehydrolyzed acrylonitrile grafted starch, acrylic acid grafted starch,and isobutylene maleic anhydride copolymers and mixtures thereof. Thehydrogel polymers are preferably lightly cross-linked to render thematerial substantially water insoluble. Preferred superabsorbentmaterials are further surface cross-linked so that the outer surface orshell of the superabsorbent particle, fibre, flake, sphere, etc.possesses a higher crosslink density than the inner portion of thesuperabsorbent. The superabsorbent materials may be in any form which issuitable for use in absorbent composites including particles, fibres,flakes, spheres, and the like.

A high liquid storage capacity is provided by the use of high amounts ofsuperabsorbent material. For an absorbent core comprising a matrix ofhydrophilic fibres, such as cellulosic fibres, and superabsorbentmaterial, the proportion of superabsorbent material is preferablybetween 10 and 90% by weight, more preferably between 30 and 70% byweight.

It is conventional for absorbent articles to have absorbent corescomprising layers of different properties with respect to liquidreceiving capacity, liquid distribution capacity and storage capacity.The thin absorbent bodies, which are common in for example baby diapersand incontinence guards, often comprise a compressed, mixed or layeredstructure of cellulosic fluff pulp and superabsorbent polymers. The sizeand absorbent capacity of the absorbent core may be varied to suitdifferent uses, such as infants or adult incontinent persons.

The absorbent core may further include an acquisition distribution layerplaced on top of the primary absorbent body, which is adapted to quicklyreceive and temporarily store discharged liquid before it is absorbed bythe primary absorbent core. Such acquisition distribution layers arewell known in the art and may be composed of porous fibrous wadding orfoam materials.

The front and back body panels 16 and 17 or those parts thereof that arelocated outside the absorbent core region may have different materialcomposition than the crotch portion 18. Thus according to one embodimentthe areas of the front and back body panels 16 and 17 which are locatedoutside the absorbent core region may be composed of for example alaminate material having a body facing side and a garment facing side,while a liquid impervious outer coversheet and/or a liquid perviousinner coversheet only is present in the absorbent core region. In otherembodiments the inner and outer coversheets are the same in the frontand back body panels 16 and 17 as well as in the crotch region 18.

The lateral side edges of the front 16 and back body panels 17 are heldtogether to form side connections 19, wherein the diaper assumes apant-like shape having the aforementioned waist opening 14 and legopenings 15. The front and back portions are held together byrefastenable fastening means, for example mechanical fastening meanslike hook-and-loop fasteners, or adhesive fasteners. The releasablefastening means comprises a first fastening member 20 and a secondfastening member 21. The front and back body panels 16 and 17 are heldtogether in a face to face relationship along their lateral edges 16 aand 17 a with their body facing sides facing inwards in the sideconnections 19.

The waist opening 14 and at least a part of the leg openings 15 areelasticized. The elastification is usually accomplished by a pluralityof elastic members 22, such as elastic threads, which are contractablyaffixed between the outer coversheet 13 and the inner coversheet 12.Alternatively elastic materials, such as elastic laminates, may be usedto form the front 16 and/or back body panels 17 in those areas whereelasticity is desired.

The first fastening member 20 is fixedly attached to the body facingside of the front body panel 16. The attachment 23 may be accomplishedby gluing, ultrasonic welding, thermobonding or the like. Only a firstportion 24 of the first fastening member 20, as seen in the transversedirection, x, is attached to the front body panel 16, while a secondportion 25 is unattached to the front body panel 16. This partialattachment of the first fastening member 20 is referred to as a hingedattachment since the second portion 25 is free to flex with respect tothe front body panel 16. The folding line 26 around which the secondportion 25 is allowed to flex is referred to as a hinge. The hinge 26extends substantially in the longitudinal direction, y, of the article.The first fastening member 20 is preferably attached to the front bodypanel 16 along its entire longitudinal length. The first fasteningmember 20 is attached with its first portion 24 to the first body panel16 adjacent or close to a lateral side edge 16 a thereof while thesecond unattached portion 25 extends away from said lateral edge 16 a.

The width of the first fastening member 20, as seen in the transversedirection, x, is at least mm, preferably at least 15 mm and morepreferably at least 20 mm. It is preferred that this width is no morethan 40 mm, preferably no more than 30 mm. The length of the firstfastening member 20, as seen in longitudinal direction, y, is at least75% of the length of the side connections 19, i.e. the distance, a,between the waist opening 14 and the respective leg opening 15,preferably at least 90% of said length. It would be possible to have twoor more first fastening members 20 arranged at short intervals along thelateral edge 16 a of the body panel 16, wherein said length correspondsto the distance between the outer edges of the outermost first fasteningmembers 20.

The hinge 26 of the first fastening member 20 is located at least 3 mm,preferably at least 5 mm from the lateral side edge 16 a of the firstbody panel 16. The width in transverse direction, x, of the secondportion 25, which is unattached to the first body panel 16, is at least5 mm, preferably at least 7 mm and more preferably at least 10 mm.

A recess 27 is provided in the lateral side edge 16 a of the front bodypanel 16, said recess 27 extends also through the first fastening member20. The recess has an extension of at least 5 mm, preferably at least 10mm, in the longitudinal direction, y, and an extension in transversedirection, x, of at least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm.

The refastenable fastening means further comprises a secondcomplementary fastening member 21, which is fixedly attached to the bodyfacing side of the back body panel 17. The attachment may beaccomplished by gluing, ultrasonic welding, thermobonding or the like.

The second fastening member 21 is preferably attached to the back bodypanel 17 along its entire length and width.

In a preferred embodiment the first and second fastening members 20 and21 are complementary hook-and-loop fasteners. It may in some cases bepreferred that the first fastening member 20 is a loop member while thesecond fastening member 21 is a hook member, but the opposite is alsofeasible.

If the first fastening member 20 is a loop member and the secondfastening member 21 is a hook member, it is preferred that the secondfastening member has a length in longitudinal direction, y, which issubstantially equal to or smaller than the length of the first fasteningmember 20. Its width in the transverse direction, x, is also smaller orequal to the width of the second portion 25 of the first fasteningmember 20. Thus in this case the second fastening member 21 ispreferably smaller than or of equal size as the size of the portion ofthe first fastening member 20 to which it is attached. Also the secondfastening member 21 may be composed of two or more fastening membersarranged at short intervals along the lateral edge 17 a of the bodypanel 17, wherein said length corresponds to the distance between theouter edges of the outermost second fastening members 21.

In an alternative embodiment the first fastening member 20 is a hookportion, wherein the body facing side of the respective body panel mayform the second fastening member 21, the loop portion. In this case thesecond fastening member 21 can be larger than the first fastening member20.

The second fastening member 21 is attached to the back body panel 17 ata distance of at least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm from the lateralside 17 a of the back body panel 17. This distance, b, is illustrated inFIG. 4. Preferably the distance b is equal to or longer than thedistance between the hinge 26 of the first fastening member 20 and thelateral side edge 16 a of the first body panel 16.

The second portion 25 of the first fastening member 20 is in the closedposition of the pant diaper releasably attached to the second fasteningmember 21 as best illustrated in FIG. 2. The first and second fasteningmembers 20 and 21 hold the body facing sides of the front and back bodypanels 16 and 17 in a face to face relationship along their lateraledges 16 a, 17 a in the area of the first portion 24 of the firstfastening member 20. Since the second portion 25 can flex about thehinge 26 it may easily move away from the front body panel 16.

It should be understood that any of the first and second fasteningmembers 20 and 21 could form an integrated part of the body facing sideof the respective body panel 16 or 17. Thus in the case of the firstfastening member 21 being a hook portion the second fastening member maybe a loop portion constituted by a nonwoven inner coversheet 12 of therespective body panel 16 or 17. It is also understood that the firstfastening member 20 may be attached to the back body panel 17 and thesecond fastening member be attached to or form a part of the front bodypanel 16.

When opening the side connections 19, the recess 27 or rather theportion of the back panel 17 that is exposed in the recess 27, will actas a finger grip and a visual indication of where to initiate opening ofthe side connections 19, thus facilitating separation of the first andsecond fastening members 20 and 21. Thus the recess should preferably belarge enough to accommodate a finger. It is evident that the recess 27may be provided in the back panel 17 instead of in the front panel 16 asshown in the drawings.

In order to easily detect the location of the recess at least part ofthe recess 27 or rather the portion of the body panel that is exposed inthe recess 27 and/or the surrounding edge of the recess 27 may becoloured in a contrasting colour.

In an alternative embodiment the recess 27 is eliminated and separationof the first and second fastening member 20 and 21 may be accomplishedby pulling apart the lateral edges 16 a and 17 a of the body panels 16and 17 in the side connection area 19.

The side connections 19 may be sealed by bonding sites 28, for examplein the form of ultrasonic welding spots, glue spots, thermobondingspots. These bonding sites 28 should be small enough not to preventopening of the side connections, and they may have any suitable shapeand configuration. The bonding sites 28 will be destroyed when the sideconnections are opened for the first time.

While it has been described and shown above that the refastenablefastening means are provided along both lateral sides of the pantdiaper, it should be understood that only one side of the pant diapermay be provided with refastenable fastening means, while the oppositeside edges of the first and second body panels may be fixedly attachedto each other, such as by gluing or ulatrasonic welding.

Referring to FIG. 5 a-e an embodiment of a process for making the abovedescribed refastenable pant diaper is illustrated. Although the processis described in terms of different steps, it should be understood thatit is a continuous process.

A continuous web of material 29 comprising a plurality of absorbentarticle blanks aligned in a transverse direction (x), which will formthe front, back and crotch panels of the pant diaper, is moved along aprocess line. The web 29 has longitudinal edges 29 a and 29 b A hole 30has been made in the web 29 (aligned blanks), which will form the legopenings 14 of the pant diaper. Absorbent cores, elastic members etc.are also present with the blanks, but are not shown. A piece of materialintended to form first fastening members 20 of two adjacent pant diapersis placed on the web 29 in the area between the hole 30 and onelongitudinal edge 29 a of the web 29, thus bridging the intended line ofseparation 31 between two adjacent pant diaper blanks. The fasteningmember 20 material is placed on the side of the blank that will form thebody facing side, i.e. the inner coversheet. This piece of firstfastening member material 20 is fixedly attached to the blank by gluing,ultrasonic welding, thermobonding or the like. In the embodiment shown,two stripes of attachment 23, spaced apart a selected distance, areprovided, one for each pant diaper blank. Alternatively one single areaof attachment 23 is bridging the intended line of separation between twoadjacent pant diaper blanks.

In a further alternative two separate pieces of material intended toform first fastening members 20 of a pant diaper each are placed oneither sides of the intended line of separation 31.

The stripe of attachment 23 does not extend the entire width of therespective first fastening member 20, but leaves a portion thereof,facing away from the intended line of separation between the adjacentpant diaper blanks, unattached to the blank. This will constitute thehinged attachment of the first fastening member 20 as described above.The area of attachment 23 may extend to the intended line of separation31 of the adjacent pant diaper blanks or terminate a selected distanceinside thereof.

A pair of second fastening members 21 are fixedly attached to each blankon either sides of the intended line of separation between the blanks,on the opposite side of the leg opening hole 31 as compared to the firstfastening member 20. The second fastening members 21 are attached at aselected distance from said intended line of separation 31 forming thelateral side edge of the pant diaper, as discussed above. Alternativelya single piece of second fastening member 21 is attached to the adjacentpant diaper blanks, said piece of second fastening member bridging theintended line or separation 31.

A hole 32 is subsequently made through the combined first fasteningmember 20 and web 30. The hole 32 is centered with respect to theintended line of separation between the adjacent pant diaper blanks. Thehole 32 will form the recesses 27 of both pant diapers to be formed fromthe blanks. Alternatively the hole 32 is made through only the web 30before placing the first fastening member 20 thereon.

The blanks are then folded in the longitudinal direction as shown inFIG. 5 d at which the first and second fastening members 20 and 21 willfasten to each other to form side connections. An additional sealing ofthe side connection area may be provided by bonding sites 28, forexample ultrasonic welding spots, glue spots, thermobonding spots or thelike. Cutting along the separation line 31 is then performed, as shownin FIG. 5 e, to form the pant diapers. Alternatively cutting isperformed before folding the blanks.

Additional process steps like adding a colouring or patterning agent tothe area between the second fastening members 21, which will be exposedin the recess 27, or around the edges surrounding the recesses 27 (thehole 31) may be present, if desired.

The refastenable pant-type absorbent article according to an embodimentof the disclosure can also be manufactured in a longitudinal direction.A recess 32 in the form of a “half hole” can then be provided in eachlateral edge of the first body panel.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodimentsthereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutionsand changes in the form and details of the devices, method steps andproducts illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art. Forexample, it is expressly intended that all combinations of thoseelements and/or method steps which perform substantially the samefunction in substantially the same way to achieve the same results arewithin the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognizedthat structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/ordescribed in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of theinvention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described orsuggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It isthe intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scopeof the claims appended hereto.

1. A refastenable pant-type absorbent article, said article having alongitudinal and a transverse direction and comprises a first body panelhaving a body facing side and a garment facing side and a second bodypanel having a body facing side and a garment facing side, said firstand second body panels being joined to each other along or near at leastone of their respective lateral edges by refastenable fastening means toform a side connection, said refastenable fastening means comprising afirst fastening member having a first portion attached to or near alateral edge of the body facing side of the first body panel and havinga second portion which is unattached to said first body panel, whereinthe first fastening member comprises a hinge between said first andsecond portions, said hinge extending in a substantial longitudinaldirection of the article, said second unattached portion is refastenablyattached to complementary second fastening member provided on the bodyfacing side of the second body panel, wherein the body facing sides ofthe first and second body panels are arranged in a face-to-facerelationship along their lateral edges in the area of the first portionof the first fastening member.
 2. The absorbent article according toclaim 1, wherein a recess is provided in the lateral edge of the firstbody panel.
 3. The absorbent article according to claim 2, wherein atleast part of said recess has an extension in a longitudinal directionof the article of at least 3 mm.
 4. The absorbent article according to,claim 2, wherein said recess has an extension in a transverse directionof the article of at least 3 mm.
 5. The absorbent article according toclaim 2, wherein said recess extends through said first fastening memberin the first portion thereof which is attached to the first body panel.6. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the first andsecond fastening members are hook-and-loop type fasteners.
 7. Theabsorbent article according to claim 6, wherein the first fasteningmember is a loop member and the second fastening member is a hookfastener.
 8. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein thesecond fastening member is located on the second body panel at adistance of at least 3 mm from the lateral side edge thereof.
 9. Theabsorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the hinge of the firstfastening member is located at a distance of at least 3 mm from thelateral side edge of the first body panel.
 10. The absorbent article asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the width in transverse direction of thesecond portion of the first fastening member, which is unattached to thefirst body panel, is at least 5 mm.
 11. The absorbent article as claimedin claim 1, wherein the length of the first fastening member as seen inlongitudinal direction is at least 75% of the length of the sideconnection.
 12. The absorbent article as claimed in claim 1, wherein thefirst body panel is a front body panel adapted to extend over thestomach and front hip area of a user, and the second body panel is aback panel adapted to extend over the back and rear hip area of theuser, wherein the second fastening member is attached to the back bodypanel at a distance of at least 3 mm from the lateral side of the backbody panel.
 13. The absorbent article as claimed in claim 1, wherein thewidth in the transverse direction of the second fastening member is atleast 3 mm, and the length in longitudinal direction is substantiallyequal to the length of the first fastening member.
 14. The absorbentarticle according to claim 2, wherein at least part of the portionexposed in the recess and/or the surrounding edge thereof is coloured ina contrasting colour or patterned.
 15. A method of making refastenableside connections in a pant-like absorbent article, said article having alongitudinal and transverse direction, said method comprising the stepsof: aligning a plurality of article blanks in a transverse direction,each article blank including first body panel and second body panel,wherein adjacent blanks are joined between their first body panels andbetween their second body panels at intended lines of separation, saidarticle blanks having a body facing side and a garment facing side inits intended use as absorbent article; bonding a first fastening memberof a refastenable fastening means to each of the first body panels, tothe intended body facing side thereof, in such a way that one portion ofthe first fastening member is bonded to the first body panel, while asecond portion thereof, is left unbonded, thus forming a hingedattachment of said first fastening member, comprising a hinge extendingin a substantial longitudinal direction of the article; bonding a secondfastening member of said refastenable fastening means to each of thesecond body panels, to the intended body facing side thereof; cutting ahole through each of the first body panel in the area of the intendedline of separation between adjacent first body panels, so that said holebridges adjacent first body panels; folding the article blanks to placethe first fastening member of the first body panel of each blank infastening contact with the second fastening member of the second bodypanel of the same blank; cutting the blanks along the intended line ofseparation, wherein the cutting step occurs before or after folding thediaper blanks;
 16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said holeis made also through the first fastening member.
 17. The absorbentarticle according to claim 2, wherein at least part of said recess hasan extension in a longitudinal direction of the article of at least 10mm and wherein said recess has an extension in a transverse direction ofthe article of at least 5 mm.
 18. The absorbent article according toclaim 17, wherein said recess extends through said first fasteningmember in the first portion thereof which is attached to the first bodypanel.
 19. The absorbent article according to claim 12, wherein thefirst fastening member is a loop member and the second fastening memberis a hook fastener.
 20. The absorbent article according to claim 1,wherein first fastening member is fixedly attached to the first bodypanel and wherein second fastening member is fixedly attached to thesecond body panel.
 21. The absorbent article according to claim 1,wherein the first fastening member comprises two or more part firstfastening members arranged at short intervals along the lateral edge ofthe first body panel.
 22. The absorbent article according to claim 7,wherein the second fastening member is an integrated part of the secondbody panel.